Public safety officer vs public safety dispatcher

The differences between public safety officers and public safety dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a public safety officer has an average salary of $36,596, which is higher than the $35,063 average annual salary of a public safety dispatcher.

The top three skills for a public safety officer include patrol, patients and public safety. The most important skills for a public safety dispatcher are computer aided dispatch, customer service, and CAD.

Public safety officer vs public safety dispatcher overview

	Public Safety Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Yearly salary	$36,596	$35,063
Hourly rate	$17.59	$16.86
Growth rate	3%	4%
Number of jobs	122,048	25,700
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	40	39
Years of experience	-	-

What does a public safety officer do?

Public relations assistants are professionals who are responsible for creating and distributing promotional materials to help clients increase their public image and awareness of their products and services. These assistants are required to help develop and distribute public relations materials such as brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, and sell sheets. They must handle all the communications of their clients to the public by supervising social media content, press releases, and emails. Public relations assistants must also gather materials to be used in trade shows or client presentations.

What does a public safety dispatcher do?

A public safety dispatcher is primarily responsible for handling emergency or non-emergency calls from the public. They are in charge of identifying the caller's needs calmly and proactively, dispatching law enforcement officers or emergency responders at the scene in a timely and efficient manner. They must operate communications equipment, manage schedules, and quickly adapt to any situation as the calls can be unpredictable and critical. Furthermore, as a public safety dispatcher, it is essential to maintain records of all calls and interactions, adhering to the organization's policies and regulations at all times.

Public safety officer vs public safety dispatcher salary

Public safety officers and public safety dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Safety Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Average salary	$36,596	$35,063
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $46,000	Between $26,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	New Britain, CT	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	City of San Jos
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between public safety officer and public safety dispatcher education

There are a few differences between a public safety officer and a public safety dispatcher in terms of educational background:

	Public Safety Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	-

Public safety officer vs public safety dispatcher demographics

Here are the differences between public safety officers' and public safety dispatchers' demographics:

	Public Safety Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Average age	40	39
Gender ratio	Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3%	Male, 37.6% Female, 62.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	17%

Differences between public safety officer and public safety dispatcher duties and responsibilities

Public safety officer example responsibilities.

Manage litigation and bankruptcy matters.
Apply hand cuffs, restraints and calm combative irate people, handling emergency situations, report writing, CPR, a.
Patrol campus, answer calls: fire, police, ems.
Engage in assistance for medical staff in dangerous situations, patient restraints, heavy lifting, and area access.
Monitor campus radio and cameras, dispatch emergency calls, issue summonses and utilize the NYSPIN computer communication network.
Involve in patient restraints and aggressive patient/visitor confrontations.

Public safety dispatcher example responsibilities.

Manage the response and allocation of police, fire, ems personnel when call for service.
Provide a and CPR instructions.
Conduct layperson CPR instruction to local communities.
Train entry dispatchers on Fire/EMS call taking and dispatching.
Provide determinant dispatch codes base on EMD and EFD standards.
Job duties are the answering, processing and dispatching of police, fire and ems services.

Public safety officer vs public safety dispatcher skills

Common public safety officer skills

Patrol, 18%
Patients, 17%
Public Safety, 12%
Customer Service, 7%
CPR, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%

Common public safety dispatcher skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Customer Service, 6%
CAD, 6%
Patrol, 5%
Dispatch System, 4%
NCIC, 3%

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Public Safety Officer vs Public Safety Dispatcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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